The present invention relates to improvement of scissors, in particular haircutting scissors, having finger grips reduced in weight to contribute to the light weight of the scissors. At the same time, the finger grips and handle allow increased strength against deflection, even when screws are used for joining members. The finger holes do not interrupt the smooth comfortable finger grips even when combined with a finger brace and hit point for the finger grips.
It is an object of the present invention, by eliminating the below-described drawbacks, to provide scissors which are light weight and have shanks of improved the strength against deflection to the opening and closing movements and particularly to scissors which when accessory members, such as a finger brace and a hit point, are mounted to the finger grips, their mounting thread holes can provide no irritation to the fingers.
While stainless steel has commonly been used for making haircutting scissors, it is increasingly replaced by lighter materials including titanium alloys and ceramics.
Haircutting scissors may also have a body and grips made of plastic material with the blades shaped of stainless steel.
However it is difficult to machine titanium alloys and ceramic materials which are highly brittle. As scissors with their finger grips made of a plastic material look cheap, they are not popular. As a result, complete stainless steel scissors are the most commonly available.
Alternatively, the weight of scissors may be reduced by thinning the blades. Illustrated in FIG. 13 are scissors 100 of which the shear body 110 comprises a blade 101, a shank 102, and a finger grip 103 all thinned. Since the blades 101,101 are subject to tension when closed, they cannot be thinned excessively. When the shank 102 is excessively thinned, it may deflect when cutting hair. Such deflection scissors reduces working efficiency due to the irritation and uncomfortable grip.
The finger grip 103 of a thin ring shape may discomfort or injure the finger of the user. It is preferably of a tubular shape but not a ring shape for ease of handling. However, the tubular shape is heavier than the ring shape and does not reduce the overall weight of the scissors.
Also, since the user places their finger in the finger grip 103 the improvement of comfort is a critical issue.
The finger grip 103 may have a finger brace 130 provided thereon for ease of the operation. In fact, the finger brace 130 is either made integral with or prepared separately and joined to the finger grip 103 as shown in FIG. 13.
As shown in FIG. 14, the finger brace 130 separately prepared has a thread provided in a proximal end 131 thereof and is threaded into a thread hole 103a provided in the finger grip 103. The thread hole 103a is a through hole providing an inner space in the finger grip 103. The finger when inserted in the finger grip 103 may remain in direct contact with and thus be irritated by the through hole. Since scissors are alternately opened and closed in minimum strokes for cutting the hair, the irritation would be on-going.
When the through hole 103a is replaced with a bottomed hole, its other end will not appear on the inner wall of the finger grip 103 thus eliminating the annoyance. However, the bottomed hole may shorten the thread. As a result, the threading will be declined in the joining strength. Also, while the thread is being machined, resultant cutting scraps will hardly be removed out from the bottomed hole.
Also, the finger grip 103 may commonly be accompanied with a hit point 120. The hit point 120 is normally made of a cushioning material such as rubber or synthetic resin and located at the place where the paired grips 103,103 strike against each other when the scissors are closed. For eliminating striking noises, the hit point 130 is mounted to one of the grip pair 103. As a result, the hit point 130 can eliminate the striking noises and minimize the impact of striking. The hit point 120 of e.g. a rubber material may have a tiny screw mounted to the bottom thereof for threading into a corresponding thread hole provided in the finger grip. This corresponding thread hole is also a through hole for the same reason. The hit point 120 may be made of a screw shape of a rubber material which is fitted into a corresponding hole provided in the finger grip. In this case, the other end of the hit point 120 may appear on the other side. In either case, the finger when inserted into the finger grip 103 may be directly engaged with and annoyed by the other end of the hit point 120. As the finger comes in direct contact with the hole, it may physically be interrupted by the distal end of the hit point 120.
As described below, the present invention is directed towards scissors having two shear bodies joined to each other for opening and closing movements, each the shear body composed of a blade, a shank, and a finger grip.
In the present invention, the shank has a first opening provided therein for reducing the weight. In particular, the shank also has a desired portion thereof arranged wider in a plan view and the first opening is provided in the desired wider portion of the shank for ease of determining its shape. This permits the opening to come through in a direction of the plan view. The shank is arranged wider in the plan view thus to provide a generous size of the first opening.
In the present invention, the first opening may be arranged extending lengthwise of the shank so that the shank has two rib portions. As the opening come through in the direction of the plan view, the two rib portions on both sides of the opening can ensure a favorable level of the strength against deflection when the scissors are closed. For example, even if the total cross section of the two rib portions is smaller than the cross section of a conventional shaft, they can be equal or higher in the strength against deflection than the conventional shaft.
In the present invention, accessories such as a finger brace and a hit point may be provided. More specifically, while the finger grip has a circumferential portion thereof arranged wider in a plan view, a second opening is provided in its wider circumferential portion. This allows the accessories to be mounted to the circumferential portion of the finger grip at the outside of the second opening. When a through hole (of threaded or insertion type) is provided in the finger grip for mounting the accessory, its location is in the circumferential portion of the finger grip at the outside of the second opening. As a result, the through hole can hardly interrupt the finger which stays directly on the inner portion of the finger grip.
In the present invention, the first opening and the second opening may be provided in a combination.
In the present invention, the first opening when provided may be shut up with a light member of which the material is smaller in the weight than that of the shank while the second opening may also be shut up with a light member of which the material is smaller in the weight than that of the shank. When both the first and second openings are provided, some or all of them may be shut up with a light member of which the material is smaller in the weight than the shank.
Accordingly, the first and second openings can be prevented from receiving any piece of hair. Also, the light members may be made of a colored material which is different from the color of the scissors, thus improving the appearance of the scissors.